


World Victory Tour - Vladivostok

by nanuk_dain



Series: Drift Compatible [50]
Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Kwoon fights, PPDC World Victory Tour, Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 11:40:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17661911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanuk_dain/pseuds/nanuk_dain
Summary: It's in Vladivostok that the PPDC stages an official, public fight between Rangers for the first time in its history. It's a huge event with over ten thousand spectators, and the stars of the evening are Sasha and Aleksis Kaidanovsky.





	World Victory Tour - Vladivostok

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go with the next part of the World Victory Tour. I hope you like it ^^

_Vladivostok, Russia, February 10th 2025_

 

The stadium is so crowded that it's almost bursting. The masses are a mixture of all kinds of people - all ages, all nationalities, all genders, all stages of life. They're cheering and roaring in sync though, no matter that their languages don't necessarily match. There's such a high spirit ruling the building that it's impossible not to get caught up in it, even in the slightly removed VIP lounge where Tendo is sitting. The anticipation is contagious, even if he has witnessed many times what the crowd is looking forward to, what they came here to watch.

The public usually doesn't get to see Rangers fighting. In a Jaeger against a Kaiju, yes, of course, but not in kwoon fights - not against _each other_. 

Amanda James and her PR team thought it would be a great idea to give the public exactly that, though. A fight between Sasha and Aleksis Kaidanovsky in their former home port of Vladivostok. She also announced that she wants Raleigh and Chuck to do the same thing in Anchorage and Pentecost and Herc in Sydney - to whatever degree they can given their still healing injuries. The Wei Tang brothers are the only ones not fighting for the simple reason that neither of them is able to stand without external support. They did protest, though.

By pure coincidence that means that only perfect matches will be in the ring together - and fights between perfect matches are a treat to watch. Even somebody completely ignorant in the ways of fighting techniques is able to see their precision, to pick up on their connection and total sync. It's incredibly impressive, and that's the effect Amanda James is counting on. Not to mention that the interest is huge and the offers to host such fights have exceeded all her expectations. Those three fights will generate a substantial amount of money, and that's part of what this tour is about, after all. Even Pentecost couldn't argue against that. 

It'll be the first time that the PPDC stages a public fight of Rangers. They've always been careful not to do that before, because the goal of Ranger training is to create compatible pilot teams, not to encourage rivalry between Rangers and let things turn into a competition about who is the best. It's not about individual achievements, it's not about being the best, it's about _giving_ your best to defend the world against a threat much bigger than you and your pride. There's a reason why brawls between Rangers - any fights outside of kwoon training - are strictly forbidden and have always been punished harshly. 

But Amanda James had it all prepared when she approached Pentecost and Herc with the idea at the beginning of the tour. She made it clear that at this point in time, a few carefully selected, exclusive events of Ranger fights will not only greatly increase the interest in the PPDC and generate money, but also promote the Academy. They need all those things. Tendo, who by chance was present during the meeting, was fully convinced that she has a point. It's not that there's a shortage of applications for the Academy, but that doesn't mean that they're appropriate Ranger candidates. It's always been about finding the needle in the haystack, in this case two matching needles - which only makes the process even harder. 

Of course one single fight isn't enough to fill an entire evening and sell it as an event. So Ms James decided that there will first be a fight between non-compatible Rangers, then drift-compatible Rangers, and at last the perfect match as the climax of the event. Tendo has to give it to her, she's cunning. And she knows how to make the most of the cards she holds - in comparison to the other fights the perfect match will come off as even more impressive. Tendo has seen enough fights in all of these categories to know that for certain.

Tendo drew on all the resources the PPDC has left to put together the pairs in each category. It wasn't too hard to find three non-compatible pairs, he muses while he's watching two unpaired Rangers have a go at each other. They're both fantastic fighters, but it's blatantly obvious to Tendo that they're not drift-compatible. The Academy produces enough Rangers that simply haven't found a partner they're compatible with, and many of them grasped at the chance to perform in the public fight. It's more difficult to demonstrate the drift-compatible pairs, since the Wei Tang brothers are still out of commission. That leaves only Chuck and Herc for the first fight, and Raleigh and Mako for the second. It's a sad fact that there are no other drift-compatible pairs who're not perfect matches. Tendo dearly hopes that the reopening of the Academy will allow them to find a partner for at least some of the unpaired Rangers they have in reserve.

The third non-compatible pair leaves the ring after the referee calls it, and Tendo isn't surprised that Reyna Rivera won. Despite her petite physique, the Filipino Ranger is a devil on the mats, and Tendo has yet to see somebody defeat her. It's really sad that an extraordinary fighter like her never found a drift-compatible partner, but it's far from a unique situation. She's a great instructor, though, and has been teaching at the Academy before it was shut down. Tendo is glad to know she'll be back again once it reopens. It's not like he has too many instructors to sort through the myriad of applicants to find the aforementioned needles in the haystack. 

There's a short break before Herc and Chuck enter the ring. Tendo leans forward to get a better look at them and waits for the fight to start. He can tell the difference to the non-compatible pairs immediately. It's obvious to him, never mind that he can tell that they're both holding back due to their respective injuries. The referee declares Herc the winner after a thrilling sixteen minutes, which is quite long for such a fight and a testament to Herc's and Chuck's skills and experience. Chuck loses by just one point, which Tendo attributes to the fact that Herc is the calmer fighter and knows Chuck's temper well enough to use the weak spots it creates.

Mako and Raleigh come to the ring afterwards, taking position opposite of each other on the mats. They're both visibly impaired. It's only been a month and Mako's broken collar bone is far from healed, so she kept on her sling. The odds are reasonably even, though, because Raleigh's left shoulder is still not entirely healed and the bandage is visible where his t-shirt sleeve ends. On his right arm the new, mostly healed circuitry burns stand out vividly against his pale skin. They both make quite the pitiful picture, but once they start fighting it becomes obvious that they're working around their limitations. It's quite impressive, and Tendo can't help thinking that they have the highest sync that he has ever seen in a non-perfect match. It's always been there, even in their first trial when they didn't know each other beyond their names. It's why they made such a great pair in the Conn-Pod, even without shared history. 

Mako wins by one point, just like she did in their try-out, and Tendo can't say he's surprised. She's one hell of a skilled fighter, and Pentecost taught her a lot of tricks that many other Rangers aren't familiar with. She always seems to have an ace up her sleeve that she can draw when she really needs it. There's another break after their fight, this one lasting half an hour to allow people to get food and drinks. Tendo makes use of the opportunity to check in on his Rangers and congratulate the winners. The atmosphere in the changing rooms is relaxed, and it's obvious that everybody is having fun. Even Chuck doesn't seem too pissed that he was defeated by his old man, which is a first in Tendo's experience. 

Sasha and Aleksis are currently warming up, going through a set of exercises together that Tendo knows are their usual routine. They're not entirely healed yet either, but that doesn't seem to deter them. Aleksis's left arm is still in its richly decorated cast, and Sasha has not yet lost the butterfly bandage on her forehead. At least they're not black and blue anymore.

Tendo leaves with just enough time to head back to his seat in the VIP lounge. The anticipation is palpable in the air, everybody knows they're going to be treated to the highly anticipated perfect match fight now. There's always been a hype around the perfect match phenomenon, and never have people been as close to experiencing it in real life as they are right now. Tendo is sure that's one of the reasons why the fight sold so well.

Sasha comes on the mats first, closely followed by Aleksis. The physical difference between them couldn't be more obvious, Aleksis is easily towering Sasha, who barely reaches up to his shoulder despite being quite tall herself. The cheering in the arena reaches almost painfully loud levels, fuelled by the admiration the audience holds for them. There are bound to be many locals to whom the Kaidanovskys are more than abstract heroes, they're the reason their cities are still standing and their families and friends are still alive. There's a lot of fierce love for Sasha and Aleksis here.

Sasha and Aleksis bow to each other, then the fight begins. It's mesmerising. They're beautiful, yet incredibly dangerous; they're passionate, yet completely in control. They're in prefect sync, move as one despite fighting each other. Tendo takes in the awed silence that grips the arena, and he feels a shiver run down his back at the stunning experience of more than ten thousand people being so quiet that the only noise comes from Sasha and Aleksis fighting. It's almost a shock when the referee calls it a draw, his voice almost booming in the hushed silence. Sasha and Aleksis stop fighting and end the demonstration with another bow. It takes another awed second before the entire stadium erupts in boisterous cheering, and it's only when he checks his watch that Tendo realises that they have been at it for almost half an hour. It felt like minutes to him. 

Sasha and Aleksis are standing next to each other and bow to the audience, turning to face each wing of the stadium. Tendo can see that Sasha is grinning. She's still high of the fight, something that Tendo has seen on her and other Ranger many times. Sometimes he wonders what it must be like to have a perfect match, to share that intense connection, to immerse so deeply into a fight that it becomes a flawless dance. He's seen it quite a lot of times now, perfect matches in a kwoon fights, and it never lost its fascination for him. He knows it's bound to be exactly the same for the public, and that's what'll fill the next stadium as well. He's sure that once word spreads - and it will spread quickly - the next fight will be sold out in less than an hour. He admits that Ms James knew what she was doing when she insisted that the ticket sales for the second event will begin only once the first fight is completed and had time to make waves. 

It's only about two hours later that Tendo manages to get to the large common room in their luxurious hotel. In addition to the individual rooms, the entire eighteenth floor is reserved only for the PPDC for the duration of their stop in Vladivostok. Sasha and Aleksis have been given the richly furnished penthouse suite by the hotel board, but they're currently sitting with several members of the crew around a large table in the common room. There are several bottles on the table that definitely contain alcohol, and everybody is in high spirits. Boisterous laughter comes through the large doorway that leads to the other part of the common room, and there are people sitting everywhere in little groups. The very relaxed atmosphere makes Tendo unwind immediately, and he joins the Kaidanovskys at their table when they call him over cheerfully.

It's quite a bit past midnight when Tendo spots Raleigh stumbling out of the adjacent room. He's obviously not entirely sober anymore, but what stands out the most are the multicoloured random stickers that cover him. They're not only on his clothes, but also on his boots and one bright 'I love Crimson Typhoon' sticker is plastered to his hair at the back of his head. He looks absolutely ridiculous. 

"What happened to him?" Tendo asks and jerks his chin at Raleigh, who is making his way towards the elevators, obviously aiming to go to his and Chuck's room.

Sasha follows his gaze and smirks. "Played poker with the Weis."

"Ouch." Tendo pulls a face in sympathy.

Sasha just shrugs, obviously not feeling any pity. "He should have known better."

Tendo inclines his head in agreement. "True. He's been around long enough."

"Exactly." She raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Everybody knows they cheat."

Tendo grins, watching Raleigh as he's stumbling into the elevator while he's trying to scrape a sticker off his arm. Judging by the pained expression on his face, he's pulling out a lot of hairs along with it. "I'm sure he'll remember it after tonight."


End file.
